[CliffColeclough]

Saw the 'controversy' with your dad's campaign flyer. Talk about making an issue about nothing. Shaw is really getting desperate. Glad the Star barely mentioned it and shoved it in at the bottom. Please Foreign Resident. She lives out of the ward - that's been brought up many times.

 

[Canuck 36]

Yah, that's what's it's all about.

What I really want to know is if that comment was meant as a slag against her since she's not white (presumably to appeal to white voters), do people not realize this would have no effect on the populace here.*** For goodness sakes half this ward is Chinese, and the rest is a multitude of colours. 'White people' make up a minority. Pathetic that certain groups and organizations have tried to make this into something.

And the funniest thing about all this is a Chinese guy helping my dad actually wrote that line. He used a dictionary (or MS Word) to find a synonymy for non-local, and this is what ensued. And the worst part is instead of these groups contacting dear ol' daddy for clarification, they run off to the media screaming "RACIST!!!"


Well from all indications it's going to be a very tight race right through to the end. We'll see what happens the night of the 10th.


EDIT: *** Just to highlight here's the breakdown of the ward according to the 2001 census:

Chinese - 23,720, 43.3% of total
East Indian - 3,245, 5.9% of total
Filipino - 1,795, 3.3% of total
Sri Lankan - 1,595, 2.9% of total
Canadian - 1,580, 2.9% of total
Jamaican - 1,380, 2.5% of total
Greek - 1,315, 2.4% of total
Italian - 1,225, 2.2% of total
English - 975, 1.8% of total
Tamil - 820, 1.5% of total
Others - 8,755, 16.0% of total
Multiple Response - 8,360, 15.3% of total

Honestly, people and groups on the left can annoy me just as much as those on the right. Idiots.


EDIT * 2: BTW here's what the big controversy is about. To put into context, when we put a sign up on someone's lawn we put a letter into their mailbox. Part campaign literature, party thank you letter, it was just something that was decided spur of the moment to include in case people needed to contact the campaign about the sign. At the bottom of this sheet was bolded text saying, "After 15 years of foreign representation, it's time to elect a local resident with a proven track record to represent you."

And to add more context, Ms. Shaw does not live in our ward, and there are claims that she in fact may own and live in a home outside the city (in Ajax). Other reports say she uses her parents house (located south-east of our ward), as a cover when in fact she doesn't live there. Regardless, the main fact is she doesn't live here.

 

[Canuck 36]

Point being she hasn't lived here for 15 years, and has done little to nothing to improve the area. Also keep in my daddy's election slogan is 'Elect Your Neighbour.'

One phone call is all it would have taken for this to have been resolved. Simple stuff.

BTW Some of the groups that sent daddy hate mail are closely linked to Mr. Miller. I'm not suggesting he had anything to do with this, but just saying all it takes is an allegation of racism (despite how strong/weak the argument is) and one is guilty until proven no one cares anymore... because we all know Miller is a racist. Barbara said so!

 

[Canuck 36]

Surprise surprise.

The guy who was on Toronto1 calling my dad racist and what not... well here he is: www.shereneshaw.org/photo3.html, on Sherene Shaw's campaign page no less.

Oh and it gets better. On that same webpage is a link with the wording "Now Magzine endorsement - November 6 issue", click on the link and you can read this:

WARD 39

SCARBOROUGH-AGINCOURT
We need another three years of incumbent Sherene Shaw like we need a hole in the head. She votes with the right wing on council more often than not, including on Union Station and the MFP computer leasing scandal, and boasts a few too many corporate donors for a bit player on council. However, we're uneasy about her rival, Catholic school board trustee Mike Del Grande, who's been getting help from a conservative coalition led by right-wing council nut Rob Ford [Note: if Mr. Ford is helping out it's news to me. The biggest player I've seen helping out actually works for the Liberals...]and is running a dirty campaign. He's been distributing flyers in the ward calling for a change after years of what he describes as "foreign" leadership under Shaw, who is originally from Guyana.[Thank you NOW for doing your homework. There is so much wrong with that statement that there's no point even going into it. But I'm sure the Chinese voters will flock to our side because clearly they can be wooed by pointing out the competition is not white] We'll take Shaw, who, if nothing else, has done a commendable job raising visible-minority issues.

I love the last line too, especially compared to The Star when they said:

...Sherene Shaw who has been a disappointment in council. Her work on diversity issues has been weak...

I think it's pretty clear who's running the dirty campaign.


Whatever, as much of I doubt anyone in my area of Scarborugh has even heard of NOW, nonetheless would actually act on its recommendation, this is the last time I read NOW.

 

[nicetommy2002]

I stopped reading NOW years ago, when I discovered it was nothing more than a lefty biased rag for all the squeaky, whining wheels in the city.

 

[SD2]

Canuck36:

I don't at all think your dad is racist...and I can definitely see what it really is supposed to mean. However, if I hadn't heard anything about it from you and just read it myself for the first time, it would definitely seem kind of bad...not the best choice of words.

I know from your perspective you think people should at least give him the benefit of the doubt...unfortunately that's tough in politics. For a lot of people, it's hard to give someone the benefit of the doubt when they'd let something so obviously potentially offensive be released. If your dad doesn't win, hopefully it all blows over so he can run again next time.

 

[Canuck 36]

Actually I'm inclined to believe since my dad sits right of centre, it's easy for groups on the left to claim racism.

I mean just think about it, if you were working for some anti-racist group and came across that ambiguous literature, wouldn't you contact the candidate before running to the media? But of course since a member of that organization is close friends with the other candidate (even appearing on her website), running to the media seems like a good choice.

I mean look at how fast the left shot down the "Miller is a racist because his poster says he looks like a mayor, meaning you have to be a tall white guy to be mayor" accusation. Why kill one of your own when you have lots of targets on the other side?


EDIT: Ultimately my dad is responsible for any literature with his name on it. Although this was delegated to be worked on by a Chinese friend of his (who again, was just using a dictionary to spruce up the flyer), if there's heat to be given some should still fall back on him. But in this case I think the media at least has a responsibility to do their own research into the matter, especially at the implication they're laying.

 

[spmarshall]

I guess that the campiagn material didn't have enough of an effect. I just saw that Mike Del Grande just beat Shaw for Scarborough-Agincourt. Congratulations!

 

[Canuck 36]

Updated Final Results...

COUNCILLOR - Ward 39
37 of 37 Polls Reporting
Candidate Total votes % of total votes
MIKE DEL GRANDE 6,299 51.64%
SHERENE SHAW 5,898 48.35%
Totals 12,197 100%

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD - Ward 7
170 of 170 Polls Reporting
Candidate Total votes % of total votes
JOHN DEL GRANDE 4,214 44.99%
VINCENT MIRABELLI 2,403 25.65%
BRENDAN CORR 1,526 16.29%
HARRY VANDENBERG 1,222 13.04%
Totals 9,365 100%

Big congrats to ol' daddy and bro'.

 

[cassiusa]

Out of context, I'd question that quote. Within context, I completely understand it.

 

[Canuck 36]

And that's just it cassiusa. I can see how some may see it as being dicey, but one would figure they would at least give him the benefit of the doubt, or try to contact him before running to the media.

 

[ganjavih]

In this day of excessive political correctness, you have to be very careful with your wording or you risk being attacked like David Miller was by Barbara Hall last night. Your opponents aren't going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I would have used different wording for that flyer - '15 years of foreign representation' sounds a bit too nasty regardless of the context.

 

[SD2]

Actually I'm inclined to believe since my dad sits right of centre, it's easy for groups on the left to claim racism.

I mean just think about it, if you were working for some anti-racist group and came across that ambiguous literature, wouldn't you contact the candidate before running to the media? But of course since a member of that organization is close friends with the other candidate (even appearing on her website), running to the media seems like a good choice.

I mean look at how fast the left shot down the "Miller is a racist because his poster says he looks like a mayor, meaning you have to be a tall white guy to be mayor" accusation. Why kill one of your own when you have lots of targets on the other side?


EDIT: Ultimately my dad is responsible for any literature with his name on it. Although this was delegated to be worked on by a Chinese friend of his (who again, was just using a dictionary to spruce up the flyer), if there's heat to be given some should still fall back on him. But in this case I think the media at least has a responsibility to do their own research into the matter, especially at the implication they're laying.

For sure...but you have to realize, that statement isn't one that needs twisting to arrive at a negative interpretation - it's the impression you get on the first read. And if that was mailed out, most people don't need a newspaper article or TV broadcast to decide it seems racist (not that that was the intention).

 

[CliffColeclough]

What's taking those last two polls so long?

Pass on congrats to your brother (who I voted for) and your dad (who I would have vored for but couldn't). A great night indeed for the family!

 

[FutureMayor]

2003 Municipal Election: Congratulations Canuck 36

Congratulations on your father's win!

Now we have a true insider at Toronto City Hall.

Louroz